All Quiet in the Pitt
by TinkerLJ
Summary: Second Joe story... Just a light and fun read. Wondering what would happen if the Pitt were attacked and some of our favorite Joes didn't have their weapon of choice. (Sorry...I just realised a chapter was missing after the reediting..complete now!)
1. Chapter 1

_This was my second Joe story. I had a lot of fun writing it the first time and almost as much revising it this go around. I just wanted to go back and smooth over the rough spots. Hope you enjoy this updated version! Thanks for reading!_

 _I don't own GI Joe..._

* * *

The perimeter alarm pierced through the predawn hour. Cobra air attack!

"All Joes, We are under attack. To battle stations. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. To battle stations."

Lady Jaye and Scarlett, tossing aside blankets, scrambled from their beds. Hastily pulling on whatever clothes were within reach, they made their way down the darkened corridor to the weapons locker. All around them, Joes were running. Lady Jaye grabbed her javelins while Scarlett grabbed her crossbow. Other Joes were also picking up weapons. Everywhere could be heard shouting and the shuffling and stamping of booted feet. As Jaye strapped her javelins to her back she saw Flint race out with his M-16 in one hand and his shotgun in the other. She briefly noticed Gung Ho follow with "Baby."

"Go! Go! Go!" Flint shouted.

"Yo Joe" the Joes yelled. Into the blackness they ran.

Cobra Rattlers were just turning for another run. Flames lit up the night as buildings burned out of control. Ace, leading a flight of Sky Strikers, was just taking off from the runway.

Suddenly, an explosion erupted behind Lady Jaye. She was instantly flung to the ground. Behind her, she heard screams and saw the red streak of Lifeline running toward the flames. Then, looking up, she saw the Rattler. Heading straight toward her, it sent a burst of machine gun. She lay motionless. As it passed overhead, she leapt to her feet, took aim and launched an incendiary javelin. The right engine of the jet burst into flame on contact. She watched as the Rattler crashed to the ground.

"Yo Joe!," she cried.

"Run, Jaye. Two more rattlers 3:00." Scarlett called as she darted past at full speed, heading toward the darker shadows of the buildings.

The Rattlers were bearing down on them. Lady Jaye was instantly up and running hard. Scarlett saw her from the shadows and carefully took aim, providing some cover.

"Gotcha!", she cried as the first Rattler exploded in flames.

Duke ran up beside her, shooting at the remaining plane while Scarlett reloaded another bolt into her crossbow. The Rattlers bullets just missed, leaving a trail of dust beside Lady Jaye.

"Oh no," she gasped, watching as it turned to bear down for a second time. She put on an extra burst of speed.

From out of nowhere, a Skystriker appeared. Releasing two sidewinders, the remaining Rattler exploded in midair.

"Yo Joe!" the cry rose in the darkness.

The night skies were finally free of Cobra.

Reaching Duke and Scarlett, Jaye gasped, "That… was too close for comfort."

"You said it," Duke grinned, slapping her on the back, "But, we got them. Come on, let's go."

Scarlett and Jaye followed Duke onto the airfield.

One by one, the Sky Strikers that had managed to get into the air were landing. The flames scattered across the runway were reminders of the planes that had never managed to leave the ground.

As soon as he brought his plane to a stop, Ace jumped out of his plane, then spotting Duke, came running. "What was that? Five lousy Rattlers! Half our planes grounded," he was furious. "How did they get by our early warning defence system?"

"I think that is what we all would like to know," Duke said angrily. "Flint, my office, NOW. We need to get a hold of Hawk ASAP and inform him of what just went down here." Their heavy footsteps pounded the ground as they headed in the direction of their offices.

"Jaye," Scarlett spoke softly, taking her by the hand, "You need to have Lifeline take a look at your arm."

Lady Jaye looked down at the red staining her sleeve, surprise evident in her eyes. She hadn't even noticed it.

"Come on," Scarlett said, leading her gently.

Lady Jaye followed slowly, as if in a daze.

* * *

Lady Jaye stood alone as the evening shadows slowly wrapped around her. Her left arm was bandaged and in a sling. She was still too keyed up after the attack to go back to bed, as Doc had told her. Besides, she argued to herself, Duke would probably be calling a meeting soon.

All around, it seemed everyone was busy, except her. Green shirts were cleaning up the damage from the attack. The infirmary was full of casualities. Lifeline and Doc had their hands full. Luckily, there had been no fatalities and most of the injuries had been minor, like her own.

Still…, Cobra had come here and attacked them. The more Jaye thought about it the more angry she became. More than angry, she was furious. How did they get by their early warning defenses, she asked again. It seemed to be the question everyone was asking.

Night was deepening. Lady Jaye listened. She watched. Her breathing quieted, and her heart beat slower as the peace of the evening washed over her. She let out a sigh, releasing the stresses and horrors of the day. The pain meds Doc had given her were finally making her sleepy. Maybe a little rest wouldn't be such a bad thing she thought as she turned away from the darkening night and headed for her quarters and her much needed bed.


	2. Chapter 2

"Thank you everyone for assembling so quickly." Duke looked around the room slowly. His team had been through possibly the worst night of their lives. They looked it, too. Ace, sitting near the front, was ready to explode. Beach Head, beside him, was no better. Duke passed his glance over them to Scarlett. He immediately noticed the bruising on her cheek, the dark circles under her eyes. He met and held the eyes of each member of the team one by one. Then lastly his eyes met and lingered on Lady Jaye. His face darkened, "How's the arm, Jaye?"

She met his concern with a defiant toss of her head. "Just a scratch. I'll live," she replied.

"Good to hear."

Flint reached over and squeezed the hand of her good arm in support. As their eyes met, she smiled brightly.

"As you all know," Duke began, "The attack last night took us by surprise and the Pitt sustained a lot of damage. Several of the offices and living spaces were lost. The outermost buildings were completely destroyed. We also lost five sky strikers. Washington is having a field day over this. The timing is terrible in light of the fact that Hawk is in Washington right now discussing our budget for the next year. It doesn't bode well for us that five of our high ticket planes were lost. To top it all off, we had a number of casualities," his glance flickered briefly toward Lady Jaye's injured arm. "I hate to admit it but we were nearly taken out."

The Joes began to talk animately in heated discussions around the room.

But Duke wasn't finished. He cleared his throat and the room instantly quieted. He took step forward and continued.

"Flint and I were in a phone conference with General Hawk until early this morning. Two things came to light. One, we did not receive an early warning of the attack and we should have." He ran his hand wearily through his blond hair. "Our first warning wasn't until they had already breached our outer perimeter. Mainframe and Dial Tone are looking into that as we speak. They will be upgrading our radar warning system as well as the encryptions. Somehow Cobra was able to access our defence program."

He took a deep breath before continuing. "Secondly, despite the break down of our early warning system, Hawk feels our own response to the situation was somewhat…lack luster. He feels, and both Flint and I agree, that a secondary response plan need to be put in place. Face it guys, we were slow on the uptake and that is what gave Cobra the time to attack our planes, even before they had a chance to get off the ground. So, we are going to put together a first response team. In the event of another perimeter breach, we need to have, already in place, a defence that will buy our planes a little more time to get off the ground.

Duke turned his gaze to the women in the room. "Scarlett, Jaye, that's where we need you two."

They stared at him in surprise.

"Jaye, your javelins and Scarlett, your crossbow have the ability to knock out a Rattler out from the ground. In a similar situation, I want you two to take the offensive and keep the enemy busy until our aircraft are off the ground."

"Sure, Duke," they both nodded.

"In case of a perimeter alarm, I want you both to immediately head for the roof of the Pitt. Scarlett, you take the South wall, Jaye you take the North. I will equip you both with private com links so that you will be able to communicate and spot for each other. Your job will be to slow any air attack Cobra makes by taking down anything that comes into your range. Hopefully that will give our flyboys enough time to get into the air," he looked pointedly at Ace, then back to the ladies. "Once they are airborn, meet up with Flint and I who will be leading the defence on the ground."

He paused. "Oh, and one more thing. We need to shave every second we can so to speed up that first response. With that in mind, we will have whatever Green Shirts are working in the weapons locker grab your javelins and crossbow and meet you up on the roof."

"Yes Duke," Scarlett and Lady Jaye responded together, "We will be ready."

Life at the Pitt settled back into a semblance of normality. But since Cobra had attacked them once already, the Joes all knew there was a very real possibility they would attack again. No one let their guard down. Even during their downtimes, everyone was in a constant state of readiness.

* * *

"You feel like hanging out in the rec room tonight?" Flint asked Lady Jaye as they were finishing their dinner in the mess one evening.

"Sure. I'm free tonight," She smiled. "No, evening duties for a change." She had just been given the okay to return to full active duty after her arm injury. It was nice to have her arm free of the sling, she thought. She stretched it again, just because she could, and enjoyed the feeling. "Any ideas?," she asked playfully.

"How about watching whatever it is they are showing in the Rec Room?"

"Nope, too crowded.

"Ummm, how about a game of Chess?"

"Nooo, too analytical."

"Pool?"

"No way! You always beat me."

A sly grin formed, "Reading books and cuddling on the couch?"

A smile touched her lips and she sighed happily, "Perfect."

"I will see you at 7:00 then," he smiled a lopsided grin.

"See you then," she raised an eyebrow coyly.

Reluctant to let her go, he took her by the arm and walked her into the hallway. Once again, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "See you at 7:00."

"See you soon, Dash," she laughed lightly. Pulling her arm free, she turned and walked away. He sighed, then turned and headed in the opposite direction.


	3. Chapter 3

The Perimeter alarm sounded once more.

"Move it!"

Jaye raced from her quarters up to the north side of the roof while inserting the earpiece for the communications device she and Scarlett had been given.

Scarlett had been in the gym sparring with Snake Eyes when the alarm sounded. She too immediately ran for the roof of the Pitt. Upon reaching the Southside, she inserted her earpiece and checked with Jaye.

"Jaye, I'm in place."

"Me too. Oh no…,"

"What's wrong?"

Jaye didn't answer. She froze. The Green shirt she was supposed to meet with her weapons stood nervously. "Oh Great, Scarlett's crossbow. Are you kidding me?" she swore, taking the weapon in hand and looking it over.

"Scarlett, someone goofed. I have your crossbow."

"Well, I have just been handed your javelins."

"Do we have time to …." Jaye started to say.

"No." Scarlett screamed into the mouthpiece. "Incoming!"

A Rattler was moving into range. "Scarlett, I need an incendiary bolt, NOW! Which one?"

"Third from the left. Just slide it in and release the trigger to spring. Smooth and easy."

"Easy for you to say," Jaye muttered under her breath. Pointing it up, "This had better work." She gritted her teeth releasing the arrow.

The tail fin burst into flame. "Woo Hoo! I got it!" she yelled as the Rattler lost control and crashed.

"Jaye," Scarlett screamed in her ear. "I've got another Rattler coming in. How do I extend this thing?"

"Do you see the grip?"

"Yeah…Hey Jaye, what's next…hurry!"

"Turn to the right to extend, then left to tighten and activate."

"Urg…got it." Taking a stance like she had seen Lady Jaye use, she gripped the javelin. "Here goes nothing…" She took aim and threw. The javelin hit the enemy plane, causing the left wing to burst into flame as the pilot ejected. It wasn't quite where she had aimed, and it wasn't pretty, but it worked.

"That was fun!" she laughed to Jaye.

Jaye had fixed another arrow and released it. Another Rattler burst into flame. "Hey Scarlett, she chuckled, "These things are awesome!"

"Glad you're having fun Jaye…" She became silent as she took aim carefully and let another javelin fly. "These things are pretty great, too. Now I can see why you like them so much." She grinned suddenly. Another pilot had ejected from his plane.

Together they shot down several more of the Cobra planes. It wasn't long before they heard the familiar approach of Skystrikers.

"Yo Joe!" Scarlett yelled.

"Go get them Ace!" Jaye cried.

"I'm heading down now." Jaye heard Scarlett speak through the earpiece. They could both hear the sounds of the battle on the ground below them.

"Right behind you."Jaye answered. "Meet you on the bottom."

Scarlett exited the Pit first, running almost immediately into Flint and Duke. They had been backed up and were taking cover behind the barracks. A half a dozen BATS were attacking. Duke just stared at Scarlett as she approached, Jaye's javelins swung comfortably over her shoulder. Lady Jaye appeared almost immediately after. Scarlett's crossbow was in her hands.

"What's going on here?" Duke gaped. "Did I fall asleep and wake up in an alternate universe?"

"Very funny," Jaye glared. "Your Green shirts messed up. Big time. I got Scarlett's crossbow and she got my javelins."

Jaye turned to Scarlett with a smirk, "Want to trade?," she asked, handing the crossbow to Scarlett.

"You bet!" Scarlett laughed.

Jaye grinned as she fingered the long shaft of her javelin. Scarlett smiled wickedly as she grasped the familiar smoothness of her crossbow. They turned together on the BATS heading toward them. Jays released an explosive tipped javelin just as Scarlett shot an incendiary bolt into their midst. The combined explosion destroyed them.

Flint and Duke stared in unbelief.

"Ahhh…That felt good." Jaye sighed happily.

"You are so right," Scarlett fondly stroked the smooth frame of her crossbow.

"Yo Joe…" Flint and Duke said together, grinning widely.

"So," Flint began, sidling up to Jaye, "You going to change weapons?"

"No way." Jaye laughed, "But, I wouldn't mind a lesson or two." She looked pointedly at Scarlett.

"You're on…if you give me a lesson."

They laughed, throwing their arms around each other leaving Duke and Flint to follow.

"Glad they are on our side," Duke whispered to Flint.

"No kidding," he whispered back.

The remaining Rattlers were quickly disposed of by Ace's flight of Sky strikers. The ground troops pulled back at the sound of Cobra commander's "retreat!"

Soon, the Joes were busy collecting the captive Cobra troops and escorting them to the brig.

"Not a bad day's work," Jaye laughed.

"Nope, not bad at all," Scarlett agreed.

* * *

"Great work men!" Duke smiled. "Thanks to Mainframe and Dialtone's tracing program, we have pinpointed the source of the leak. We now know where and how Cobra hacked into our defence program. Mainframe is working on rewriting that section of the program to block any of Cobra's future attempts. Cobra will not be able to shut down our early warning radar system again."

The Joes cheered, clapping enthusiastically.

"I am also pleased to inform everyone that our first response team was also highly successful. Thanks to Scarlett and Lady Jaye, our Sky strikers were able to get off the ground and not a single one was destroyed. Great work Ladies."

The room was filled with cheers and applause and a few wolf whistles. Several of the men came up and patted them on the back. Flint squeezed Jaye's arm, smiling proudly.

"General Hawk," Duke continued, "has already been informed of our attack yesterday and he is extremely pleased with our success. He believes the success of this attack may also help with getting the budget for next year approved."

The Joes applauded approvingly.

"Once again men, excellent work. Roadblock has been in the mess preparing something special to celebrate. I want everyone to eat and enjoy. Dismissed." Duke smiled.

Flint waited until the others had left then walked up to Jaye. "So…," he began, wrapping his arm loosely around her narrow waist.

"So…what?" Lady Jaye asked, raising an eyebrow slyly.

"Want to hang out in the Rec room tonight?"

"I thought you'd never ask," she laughed.

"Jaye.…," he spoke warningly, pulling her into his arms.

"What?" she was suddenly nervous.

"Nothing…" He grinned his lopsided grin, "Nothing at all."

Her eyes widened suddenly as he bent down and pressed his lips to hers.

"Oh."


End file.
